A team of north-east gymnasts triumphed at the recent Scottish Women’s Artistic (WA) Floor & Vault Competition, held at Bell’s Sports Centre in Perth and organised by Scottish Gymnastics.

The four-strong team, representing Oldmeldrum-based L Gymnastics, claimed a convincing gold in the 10-11 year old age category, with a combined score of 76.30 – a clear 1.25 points ahead of their nearest rivals. For the young gymnasts – Keeley Ritchie, Ava Baxter, Louisa Maciver and Emily Proud – it represented a near-perfect debut performance at regional level.

L Gymnastics’ club members train at ETKO Sports Academy, under head coach and former international gymnast Laura Etko. Following a significant expansion project last year, the club’s gymnasts benefit from training in a 1092m² purpose-built facility, which is fully equipped with a sprung floor for practising routines, plus competition-standard apparatus.

In order to take team gold, each of the girls put in a strong individual performance, dominating the floor event in their age category by claiming all three podium places.

Laura Etko, head coach, L Gymnastics, said: “This competition was a first for all of the girls and the coaching team are full of admiration for how they rose to the challenge.

“As always, they worked extremely hard in training, however it can be difficult to translate that training effectively when under pressure in a competition. Their composure was remarkable and they should be rightly proud of their achievements.”

L Gymnastics is based at ETKO Sports Academy within the Hoodles Playbarn Complex at Oldmeldrum. The club is led by head coach Laura Etko, who has represented Scotland at an international level as both a junior and senior gymnast.

ETKO Sports Academy offers gymnastics, wrestling and other sporting opportunities for all ages, from baby gym to adult fitness. Further information is available by calling ETKO Sports Academy on 01651 or by visiting www.etkosportsacademy.co.uk.